#also I have close friends and family in the US

[bunnwich]

It's Supposed to Be Fun

(a letter to my friends in the twst fandom)

I've been wanting to make this post for a while and these thoughts may seem scattered but I’m gonna try to express them. 

Lately, I have seen many friends and moots that either are leaving the fandom or feel guilty over not having posted in a while or losing interest in twst. On the other side, I also have friends being harassed.

This a reminder to remember why you joined this community to begin with. I know that keeping up with the fast-moving pace of fandom and comparing ourselves to others, can skew our perspective on these things.

It’s supposed to be fun. 

Why do we post art or write? Sure, partly for recognition, there's no denying that. But, why do we create, I mean really? For enjoyment. Not for others, not to be “popular” FOR JOY.

So, whether you’re dealing with people critiquing you or feeling guilty about not creating. My question is this: Why waste so much of your time on something that makes you miserable?

Did it stop being fun? Why? Haters? Loss of interest?

To my friends who feel guilty for not creating and not sure if they lost interest in twst: 

Don’t feel guilty. At one time, the creation of your twst content was natural. It's what you did for fun with friends or for yourself. Revisit that mindset and think - if creating twst content now will bring that same joy it did before.

If the answer is no, then maybe it’s time to pivot. It’s okay for interests to fade. It doesn’t mean that time, memories, or the friends you made are lost. Connect with your friends, we will understand! We still love you! It's not a race there's no time limit, just pick up were you want to. Draw fanart of old events or OCs.

To my friends who have been harassed: 

I say this with sincerity…. People who harass others over fictional characters are fucking losers.

Like… There’s no other eloquent way to encapsulate it. I’m starting to not care for the reason anymore - If you harass or be shady to others over a ship or fictional character. CONGRATS! YOU ARE A LOSER.

We all join fandoms as a hobby, for fun. We’re all just kids in the sandbox playing pretend again… and if you are the type of person to go up just to “kick the doll out of someone’s hand" or make commentary on how “their way of playing is wrong." You’re a loser. I have a life outside of twst, we all do. Someone saying my ship is wrong or cringe is just so laughable to me. We have to make fun of these people more for being so goddamn lame.

Imagine being so unhappy that when you see someone having fun you HAVE to comment on it. By all means, if it gets you through the day...talk shit to close friends or even post about it on your own blog. (THAT WAS ALWAYS ALLOWED.) Don't bother creators directly. Don't be a loser. I sure see tolerance leave people’s bodies when they see a fandom opinion they don't like. (And this is coming from someone who has lots of opinions on these things! But that's why I always put the disclaimers that, hey this is just MY opinion.)

Discussion is one thing, unhelpful comments are another. We shouldn’t give these people the time of day. Curate your online space. Yes, when you post things online you are subjecting yourself to scrutiny. But, we as creators need to stop letting these people have power over us. Period. We do this for free!! FOR FUN. The best thing you can do is create shamelessly.

Delete weird replies, block whoever you need to do to rid yourself of these people who have nothing better to do. Keep your peace. It’s supposed to be for fun. You don’t owe anyone a response.

The twst fandom is like a little family to me and I guess I feel protective over the people in it?  I have made many friends and memories because I joined it. And even dispite a handful of the negative experiences (AKA: A couple of “losers" that I’ve had to deal with.) I’ll always look fondly back on this time.

The key for me has always been to just…create for myself. I originally made bunnwich for me and one friend to make fun little arts about our Yuu’s and now I get to have lots of friends to share it with! I’ve transitioned from an OC blog to probably more of an Oc x Canon blog…but I don’t care tbh. I just…draw what I feel like. I know there are people who probably dislike me for that or feel strange about my content and that’s fine. I’m still gonna keep drawing it, loser.  

And I just want you guys to do the same, twst or not.

I can’t forget that all my followers and friends are a bonus, if I had never joined tumblr I’d still be drawing the silly shit I draw in peace. And while yes, I do want to grow as an artist and sell more merch and keep growing... I can’t forget my initial excitement for this silly little game. I like to talk about it. I like to write about it. It inspires me.

It’s supposed to be fun. Please remember that. I know it can be discouraging to have others being shitty to you. Or going through a creative drought. But, try not to let this stop you from creating what you love.

[sunflower-lilac42]

𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 | 𝘲𝘩43 ❀

➪ summary: trying to go to the bathroom, her boyfriend's brothers and friend stop her to make cupcakes at midnight

➪ warnings: none :)

➪ word count: 1.2k

➪ file type: fic; sequel to white girl music (or standalone if choose to be)

➪ sunny's notes: the first new fic i'm posting on here!! this can be read as a standalone but also can be read as a sequel to 'white girl music'. this is not something i thought i would be writing but once my mom and i watched anyone but you again i had to write something about hockey boys screaming unwritten.

nhl masterlist || taglist || navigation

It was late at night and all you wanted to do when you exited your room was to go to the bathroom and return. But, then you heard whispers of your name from down the hallway. When you turned you saw Jack peeking around from one of the doorways, Luke and Trevor’s heads above him. You raised an eyebrow, “Yes boys?”

“Come make cupcakes with us?” The three of them gave you the best puppy dog eyes that they could muster and you sighed, “It’s almost midnight you three.”

The three of them had always seen you as an older sister figure, sometimes even referring to you as a second mom despite your closeness in age. When Quinn first introduced you to not only his brothers but Trevor as well, you were shy. You didn’t really talk at all and they rarely ever saw you without Quinn by your side. But as the years went on, you became more like yourself around the boys, laughing at the worst times, and making random jokes. They quickly “adopted” you into their little family. 

Which is why you always find yourself in the most unpredicted circumstances with them. Usually, it was playing a prank on your boyfriend or going on late-night drives to get them food or even just going shopping with them and fooling around in the stores with them. Tonight seemed to be no exception. 

“Please please please please please.” 

“Fine.”

They cheered but were quickly silenced by the look on your face, “But be quiet. Quinn’s sleeping.”

They grumbled a bit, yet made their way as silently as possible to the kitchen to start collecting the ingredients they needed. You maneuvered around the kitchen, preheating the oven and finding the cupcake tins. You caught the tail end of Trevor’s mischievous look and sighed, “What are you doing?”

He only ignored you and started playing music on his phone and once California Girls came on, you knew it only had to have been the white girl playlist that they had found a couple of months ago. You playfully rolled your eyes, “Just keep it down, Trevor.”

“Yes, mom.”

Halfway through making the cupcakes, you heard the boys start to sing along with the current song that was on, Call Me Maybe. Then you saw them start to do the dance from the Harvard Baseball team video. You shook your head but couldn’t help yourself when she started to sing along a little too. You were still relatively quiet, not wanting to wake Quinn up from the noise. The boys, however, only took this as an invitation to start to sing louder. 

As the next song started to play, you warned them once again to lower their voices. But, even you couldn’t stop yourself from singing Love You Like A Love Song a little bit louder. You started to feel more comfortable and awake and started to dance around with the boys, the bowl and whisk still in your hands as you moved across the floor. 

They all started laughing after a small thing of batter flew off the whisk and landed on Jack’s shirt. Jack pouted a little, sad his shirt had gotten a little dirty, but then shrugged and lifted his shirt to eat the batter off of it and continued singing like nothing had happened. He proceeded to grab the other whisk that was in the kitchen and used it as a fake microphone to sing into. 

Unwritten started playing and they shared looks before practically yelling out the lyrics. The cupcakes were long forgotten as everything sat on the counter and the four were each holding something different to use as a microphone - Jack the whisk, Trevor a rolling pin, Luke a wooden spoon, and you a spatula. Once the music started to become louder and more upbeat, they were full on screaming. 

Meanwhile, Quinn tossed and turned in his bed, hearing faint chatter, and just assumed that his brothers were playing Mario Kart a little too late again. He laid face down on the bed as he reached his right arm out to wrap around your waist but frowned when all he felt was a small pile of bed sheets instead. That’s when he heard the voices getting louder, mumbling curses to himself as he got out of bed. 

He rubbed his eyes as he made his way down the stairs, each step closer to the kitchen. Once he turned the corner after the stairs he immediately flinched at the noise, “FEEL THE RAIN ON YOUR SKIN!”

His eyes widened and he walked into the kitchen, trying to comprehend the scene in front of him. Jack was dancing on the island and the three of you danced around it, still singing your hearts out. When the song ended he cleared his throat and all four heads snapped to him. Your eyes softened and immediately started apologizing, “I am so so so sorry baby. I was just going to the bathroom and then they asked if I wanted to make cupcakes and they used the puppy dog eyes so I couldn’t really say no. I tried to get them to be quiet but Trevor put on the playlist and well…”

He smiled a little, happy that you were getting along with his brothers and Trevor, “I’m glad you’re…” He trailed off, “having fun, but it is almost 1:30 in the morning and the closest thing I see to a cupcake is the batter in the bowl.”

You blushed and looked down at your hands as the boys groaned, “I forgot about the cupcakes.”

In truth though, they weren’t that mad. They were able to persuade you to hang out with them and were able to spend an hour and a half listening to music and dancing around the kitchen with you. Sure it was a little late, but it was fine in hindsight, they had nothing to do and plenty of time to fix their sleep schedule before the season started.  

Quinn eyed the three, “Alright, the two of us are going to bed and you can either finish making the cupcakes or clean up.”

They groaned once again, “We won’t be able to do it without her.”

“You were barely able to do it with her, no offense baby.” He kissed your temple as he brought you into his arms, your back flush with his chest. 

You giggled at his response and watched as the boys slowly got to work, not sure if they were trying to clean up or finish making them. Quinn then pulled you up to your guys’ bedroom, flopping down on the bed. You followed suit, curling up next to him, “I’m sorry for waking you.”

“It’s okay, I’ll live. But I am never letting you live this down.”

“That’s okay, I still remember the time I came home from work and you, Jack, and Luke were listening to Selena Gomez.”

He threw his head back and laughed, “Of course you remember. Now go to bed, baby.”

“If we hear smoke alarms soon, I’m blaming you.”

“Why?”

“Because I can.”

⬂ 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 ⬂

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[errolluck]

Dear Americans and people outside Mexico: Please stop.

I have seen many posts of people outside Mexico saying: Congrats, Mexico! Claudia, a leftist feminist ambientalist jewish woman, is president! Take notes US!

Meanwhile, you go out in the streets in Mexico today and no one is celebrating. No one. The streets are empty, everything feels sad and hopeless.

A lot of people didn't want her. Because we know what is going to happen.

Morena (her political group) is literally in every position of power. From senators, to city governors. They have EVERY SINGLE thing in the goverment.

You know how bad things are gonna get for us here? Do you know what she has allowed? What THEY have done to our country? All the shit we have been through because of them?

No, because you don't care. You haven't cared enough to research who this woman is really and just praise her without knowing a shit.

Because you have to make everything about you, don't you?.

"I can't believe Mexico has a woman president before US!"

"OMG, US take notes!"

"The US-"

Can you stop for a second and think outside of your bubble? Do you truly know who this woman is and what she has done to Mexico? Or you are just using this to talk about you and your own country and problems?

Please. Please do your research.

She is not your precious feminist ally.

She has denied multiple times the ongoing wave of violence against women in Mexico (11 women go missing A DAY). She has sent riot police to gas feminist protests.

Did you hear what I said?

11 WOMEN GO MISSING A DAY.

EVERY DAY 11 WOMEN NEVER COME BACK, ARE KILLED, ARE RAPED, ARE TORTURED, ARE GETTING FORGOTTEN WITHOUT LEAVING A TRACE. EVERYDAY.

And she denies this. She has denied MULTIPLE TIMES that the violence against women is at an all time high.

A feminist would denied that 11 mothers/sisters/daughters/aunts/girls/women/people are going missing PER DAY?

No. Because she doesn't fucking care.

She is no ambientalist.

She was more than happy to support the Tren Maya, a project AMLO, the former president, was hooked on making since the begining.

The issue?

DEFORESTATION. MASSIVE DEFORESTATION.

10 MILLION TREES HAVE BEEN CUT DOWN.

Entire natural spaces gone for a train that isn't even working and already is having problems.

Also, how can I forget this?

27 people died, 80 injured.

The line 12 (Linea 12) of the CDMX Metro collapsed. The structure and the entire transport had (and still are) been neglected by the city administration.

Guess who was in charge of CDMX at the time of the tragedy?

Exactly, Claudia Sheinbaum. What was she doing instead of sending resources and money to fix and mantain the Metro?

But political propaganda for herself, of course!

And even after that tragedy, there have been multiple issues and accidents in the metro. A fucking coworker of a family member was trapped in a wagon alongside multiple people for HOURS due to a malfuction of the metro. They weren't allowed to get out even if they were cooking alive due to the heat of being inside a closed wagon and police ordered them TO NOT FILM what was happening to them.

She is not a saint. She is not an icon. She is not someone you should praise.

FUCKING INFORM YOURSELF BEFORE TALKING.

Mexico is not USA. Get it? We don't have the same politics and issues you have, get that?

The entire world doesn't revolve around you. We aren't your argument to use, we aren't your little meme to fuck around with.

We are people that are tired. People that didn't want this. People that are upset, dissapointed, mad, hopeless.

My blog isn't a political place, so as a final note, I want to say this:

I want to be wrong. I really, really want to be fucking wrong.

I want my country, Mexico, to be ok. To be a better place to live.

I HOPE to be wrong and that things get better. For me, for my family, for my friends, for the millions of people that stay, study, work, breathe, live and love this country.

Claudia Sheinbaum, I really want to be wrong about you. Not because I love you, but because I love Mexico.

I don't have high hopes for the future, but I really, REALLY, want things to be better.

That's all I have to say for now.

[reids-slut]

An Invisible Locket

Chapter 1: Loved You in Secret

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader // Secret relationship

Description: You work with your best friend and your boyfriend. The only problem is, nobody knows Spencer Reid is your boyfriend of over a year. When you find out that Spencer's getting sent out on a case immediately after getting back to Quantico, impulses take over. (Content/Warnings below the cut)

Content/Warnings: [18+ MDNI], smut, oral sex (M & F receiving), PIV sex, unprotected sex within an established relationship, unplanned pregnancy, discussions of abortion (in a pro-choice context, though Reader ends up choosing to stay pregnant), minor mentions of alcohol and cancer.

As for the crime subplot, much of it is very canon-typical (referenced child abuse & grooming by an extended family member (non-sexual), violence, blood/gore, drugs. As always, please feel free to let me know if I miss any CWs!

A/N: This fic is obviously heavy on the Spencer and Reader relationship, but it's also got a significant Garcia best friend plot line and crime plot line. This fic also features an unplanned Reader pregnancy. Reader debates abortion and is pro-choice, but ultimately ends up keeping the pregnancy. If any of that isn't up your alley, please feel free to skip this fic!

Names used: Baby, baby girl, good/sweet/pretty girl, daddy, good boy (once), my love.

Words (this chapter): 3.6 K

Words (total): 29.1 K

Penelope Garcia finally shows herself at 10:08 a.m. As usual, she rolls into your shared office with the force of a tornado.

“All righty, Miss Y/N, we need to discuss the plans for your birthday party soon. I need a guest list because I need to figure out how much food I’m ordering and where we’re going to have it, since your apartment is pretty small and mine is only marginally bigger. I’ve already asked him, and Rossi did say we could have it at his house, so that’ll probably be the best option.”

Before she takes her seat, she takes notice of your furrowed brows and crossed arms. Her face falls. “Wait, what did I say wrong?”

“First of all, Pen, my birthday isn’t for another two months, and I told you that I’m fine with it just being the two of us. That’s why they make small cakes. For lonely people who only have one friend,” you joked. “Secondly, where have you been!? I’ve been here since nine, and it’s now…” You check your non-existent watch for dramatic effect, “past ten. You didn’t answer any of my calls or texts. Penelope Garcia, unreachable? I assumed that you were, quite literally, dead.”

“Two months is very little time in the party-planning world, I shall have you know! Plus, I may have already invited the team, so that’s…,” she starts counting on her fingers, but quickly gives up, “somewhere between 10 and 20 people, I think?”

You just sigh, stifling a laugh. Penelope Garcia loves a good, moderately-sized, well-planned party. Bonus points if it’s got a theme.

“Wait, did I not tell you about that meeting I had with Hotch this morning?” she asks, either genuinely puzzled or doing a great job at pretending to be.

Your curiosity is piqued. “No, but spill! Meeting with Hotch? What about, and why wasn’t I invited?”

Penelope takes her seat, and you slide your swivel chair over to hers. Elbows on your knees and chin resting on your fists, you await her update like an impatient child.

“It’s nothing that exciting, unfortunately, my sexy, salacious sidekick.”

Leaning in close to her ear, you whisper, “Don’t make me call HR again, Miss Garcia.” You give her a quick peck on the cheek and roll yourself back to your desk, only a few feet away, to resume working.

She drops her bomb as if it’s nothing, talking fast, as if that were to lessen its impact. “Section Chief Erin Strauss wanted an update on how the team was doing, having two technical analysts. That’s all it was.”

***

The FBI hired you to work as a technical analyst with the Behavioral Analysis Unit just shy of your 25th birthday. You met your best friend, Penelope Garcia, while she was presenting on behalf of the FBI at your then-school and her alma mater, Caltech.

Beginning the final year of your undergrad computer science degree, you had little idea of what direction you wanted to take after graduation.

Penelope’s presentation showcased various tech-related careers within the FBI, of which technical analysts are one. She confidently marched up to the microphone wearing a bright pink pencil skirt, pink tweed jacket, and a cat-ear headband. You immediately knew that you had to talk to her afterwards.

Even in high school, you were always the one who had to match your outfits and accessories to a specific theme or color. Themed outfits brought you so much joy and confidence, but people have chastised you for the way you choose to express yourself in the past.

In your first term of university, one professor used your outfit as an example of how not to dress in a “professional setting”. She was a woman, too. It probably wouldn’t have hurt as badly coming from a male professor, but being shamed by a female professor did a number on your self-esteem.

Thankfully, your mom has always been your number one fan and biggest cheerleader. When you cried to her about your experience in class, she gave you the pep-talk of a lifetime about how the world needs more people who are authentically themselves to “bring color to the lives of the boring”. She’s an oil painter, so the advice was very on-par for her, but it still meant a lot.

Seeing another colorful, authentic woman, let alone one with a job at the FBI—which you had always viewed as a stuck-up, cold, and refined place to work—was immensely inspiring.

Besides talking about technical analysts, Penelope highlighted the careers of digital forensic examiners, IT specialists, and computer scientists within the FBI. Everything about her seemed down to earth, and you felt so excited by her presentation. You were actually taking notes.

After her presentation, you headed over to see if you could speak with her. Before you could even open your mouth, she loudly gasped upon seeing your outfit.

You were wearing a sundress that day, the white fabric arrayed with printed lemons. Your necklace and earrings had little lemon charms to match, and the purse you were carrying (which was only large enough to hold a few items) was in the shape of a lemon wedge. A yellow elastic pulled your hair up into a ponytail, topped off by a yellow headband.

Your big gray backpack stood out like a sore thumb, but unfortunately, your laptop and textbooks didn’t quite fit in the lemon purse.

After talking up a storm, Penelope gave you her card. You two became fast friends, first via email and later by phone. She became the older sister you never had. A photo album in your closet holds the photos from your numerous trips to visit each other.

Right after you finished your master’s, Penelope convinced her boss to hire you to work alongside her in the BAU.

***

“So, after being here more than two years, Strauss wants to know if she can cut me from the team? That’s your idea of ‘no biggie’?” you ask.

“I wasn’t going to tell you because I knew it would just cause you all sorts of unnecessary stress and I wanted to protect your sweet, precious little heart. But both Hotch and I assured Strauss that you’re a much-needed member of the team and, thankfully, for once, she left the boxing gloves at home and didn’t put up a fight.”

“Well, thank you for trying to protect me from stress, but I mean, I did think you were dead for a whole hour today.” You bounce your two upward-facing palms up and down, as if weighing out the pros and cons of her decision.

“You’re right. Next time I have to keep a secret from you, I need a better lie,” she joked.

“How about any lie, actually? You just told me nothing and my brain assumed the worst.”

Penelope is so special to you, and you are both so content getting to work together. You guys have decorated your office to the maximum extent, just shy of incurring a fire code violation. Your desk is as equally covered with fun knickknacks and fidget toys as hers.

“Oh, shoot! You finished the prep on the Cedar Key case, right?” Penelope asks. “I forgot to check that you got JJ’s email because I was so caught up with that stupid meeting!”

“Strauss does what Strauss does best: taking away resources and making it harder for all of us to do our jobs,” you joke with an eye roll. “But yeah, I saw her email early this morning, and I got started on it as soon as I got in. I finished about 20 minutes before you finally showed up, so I just went in and did some updates on the back-end while I waited.”

“Oh, good! If you hadn’t finished it, I would’ve had to send you to the time-out bean bag chair for the rest of the day.” She puts on a childish, grumpy voice, “And we all know how grumpy you get when you get sent to the time-out bean bag chair for being a bad girl.”

You can’t come even close to containing the full belly laugh that escapes you as you lean back in your chair.

The time-out bean bag chair thing is an inside joke between you two. You and Penelope snuck a fluffy pink bean bag chair into your office last year. A much-needed piece of office furniture in your eyes, but your superiors would probably disagree. Thankfully, the custodians have left it alone and just cleaned around it. Nobody’s ratted you out yet.

One day, you both were working on problem-solving a kink in the system after an update. It’s Penelope’s operating system, but you had already become fairly familiar with it by that point.

Derek must have had nothing more important to do that day, because he wouldn’t stop bugging you guys, asking questions about what you were doing and touching things on Penelope’s desk. He loves to bug her, and you love to tease her about it. He’s like a schoolboy with a crush.

Penelope blew up at him and told him that if he wanted to stay, he was getting a time-out on the bean bag chair.

He stayed. The name stuck.

Penelope’s phone alerts on her desk, breaking the complete silence in the room. “JJ just texted and said it’s time to brief the team.” She stands and raises an elbow for you to interlink your arm with hers—basically the only way you two walk around the office (or skip when no one’s looking).

“Let’s go, Mini-Me,” she says.

***

As soon as he strolls into the round table room, you spot him. Your eyes dart immediately to his, catching his gaze. Your boyfriend, Dr. Spencer Reid. You force your eyes away from him, scanning the rest of the room.

You’ve been with the BAU for 2 years and secretly dating Spencer for a little over half of that. As far as you’re aware, nobody’s figured it out yet. At work, you try your hardest to remain as professional and platonic as possible. Sometimes though, your mind drifts to daydreams of Spencer meeting you in your office alone, your hands planted firmly on your desk as he takes you from behind.

He’s sitting at the far side of the large table, between Dave Rossi and Emily Prentiss. He’s wearing the loose navy-blue cardigan he knows you love over a pale blue dress shirt. Oh, to be able to grab him by the tie and peel those clothes off him right now…

This is the first time you’ve been able to see Spencer in over a week. He had a week’s worth of vacation time to use up, so you encouraged him to go visit his mom, Diana, in Vegas. Spencer was over at your place the last time he got a call from the assisted living facility Diana’s at. They told him that she’s been more agitated lately and asking for her son. The pain on Spencer’s face when they asked him if he’d be able to come visit soon broke your heart.

It would have been great if you could have gone with him to Vegas (or otherwise not spent his vacation apart), but Spencer really needed to see her, regardless.

A few of your coworkers are quietly chatting, but they quiet as soon as JJ begins. “All right everyone, let’s get started.” Everyone begins to thumb through the small folder of papers on the table in front of them detailing the case. “We’re headed to Cedar Key, Florida. They’ve got two victims so far, with two very different MOs.”

You press a button on the small remote in your hand which controls the presentation. Images of the two victims pre- and postmortem pop up on the screen.

Penelope averts her gaze as she picks up from JJ. “As you can see, this was no fun Florida vacation for these two. On the left is James MacDermott from Cleburne, Texas. 38 years old. Worked in IT. Father to two adorable, chubby-cheeked twin babies. His wife reported him missing when she woke up one day and he had left with no note or explanation.” Her face tightens. “James was found dismembered in a suitcase under a pier by a group of teenagers who were going for a swim. Finding a dismembered corpse is definitely not my idea of a fun day at the beach.”

“Our second victim,” you start, “is Elaine Colton, 74, of Abilene, Kansas. She’s a retired second grade schoolteacher. Her husband Joe died two years ago, and she’s been living on her own since. Her daughter—a nurse—stops by once a week to visit and help with errands. Elaine lost her license after suffering a stroke a few years ago, so she can’t drive. Her daughter called 911 when she went for her weekly visit and found her mom was gone. She said her mother ‘packed as if she were going on a trip.’”

You consciously keep your gaze moving around the room as you speak, but while you’re talking, Spencer isn’t taking his eyes off you. Knowing he’s about to leave on a case again makes it that much harder when all you want to do is hug and kiss him right now. Sometimes, you don’t even get the luxury of saying goodbye, but that’s the nature of the job and of keeping a secret like this.

“Her body was found dumped in a glade nearby three days after our first victim, but unlike James, Elaine’s limbs were fully intact.”

Derek is the first to speak up. “So, how do we know these deaths are connected?”

Penelope gives you a quick nod to bring up the next pictures. The images are of the back of the victims’ bodies. The back of their skulls has been cut open—seemingly with some sort of surgical saw—into a perfect square.

“As you can see,” Penelope continues, shielding her peripheral vision from the monitor with her hand, “our friends here had some not-so-little holes left in the back of their heads.”

“Definitely some surgical training,” Rossi notes. “Our unsub purposefully left their brains exposed for a reason.”

“Is that a matching tattoo on their backs?” Emily asks.

“Yes,” JJ replies. You skip to the next set of images with a close-up of each victim’s tattoo, thankful that the grotesque pictures are gone. You’re not shaken as easily by the gore as Penelope, but that was still far too much brain for how early in the day it is—or ever, honestly. The tattoos are of a rod with a snake winding up around it.

“Both victims have this tattooed on the middle of their upper backs. ME thinks that both the tattoo and the skull dissection were done postmortem.”

As soon as Spencer saw those tattoos, he lifted slightly in his seat. He’s been waiting for his opportunity to interject.

“The tattoos are of the Rod of Asclepius, which has been a symbol of medicine since 800 BCE. According to Greek mythology, Asclepius was the god of medicine and his father, Apollo, the god of healing.”

Derek cuts in, “Wait, I thought the symbol of medicine was the staff with the two snakes and the wings, or whatever?”

“That’s actually the caduceus, which was the staff carried by Hermes. In the mid-to-late 1800s, the US Military began mistakenly using the caduceus, first with Army hospital stewards and then, in 1902, the Army Medical Department adopted it. It was even used by the American Medical Association for a period until they correctly adopted the Rod of Asclepius in 1912. Before then, the caduceus had no connection to medicine whatsoever.”

The joy on Spencer’s face whenever he gets to share his fun facts warms you up inside. You have to suppress the pure admiration on your face. He’s looking around at his colleagues, but they aren’t at all entertained by his information. They’re trying to dissect it.

“Okay, so this is someone who’s knowledgeable about medicine then, right?” Dave asks.

“Yeah, I think surgical training or something along those lines still makes the most sense,” Emily says.

When Spencer glances your way, you give him a quick shy smile. To anyone else, it might come across as pity, but it’s your unspoken way of reminding him that you love his big, beautiful brain and that you’ll always listen to him. You’ll always hear him. He quickly flashes you a smile in return; his silent thank you.

Everyone turns their attention to you as you pick up from JJ, getting the briefing back on track.

“The ME also said that the COD on each victim was wildly different. Elaine Colton died of an overdose of fentanyl that was most likely cut with etizolam, which was also found on the tox. screen.”

“Street fentanyl being compounded with etizolam—a black-market benzodiazepine—is often called ‘benzo dope’,” Spencer remarks. “It’s a combination of drugs that’s much more likely to cause an overdose because naloxone isn’t effective against benzodiazepines and most drug user aren’t aware that their supply isn’t pure.”

“I’m assuming that our house-bound, retired schoolteacher wasn’t using street drugs in her free time.” Rossi adds, uncontested.

The team reflects on that information while JJ continues, “James MacDermott died, most likely of blood loss. His heart was crudely cut out of his chest with what the ME believes was a steak knife.”

“So, there are at least two unsubs,” Emily says. You can only assume because of the surgical precision of one act and the bluntness of the other.

Derek looks up from the case file. “This isn’t a very populated area, right? How has the local PD not pinned anyone yet?”

You look at Spencer before he even starts. “Cedar Key is an island off the coast, connected to the mainland by a bridge. It only has a population of around 700 people. Levy county has 39,875 people, though.”

Hotch stands to address the team. “Okay, Reid, you start working on a geographical profile. Morgan and Prentiss, you guys head straight to the ME. JJ and I will get set up at the local PD.” His stoicism falls ever so slightly, an air of frustration tinging his voice. “Also, the jet’s a bit behind today because there was a delay in the routine maintenance check, but I want everyone back here in an hour. Wheels up in… 90, I guess.”

The team seems a bit stunned for a moment. Hotch tells everyone to use this as an early lunch break and to relax a bit before they have to leave. His placidity over such a lengthy delay surprises you, but you aren’t going to complain about an extra hour before Spencer has to leave for god knows how long.

Spencer grabs his phone out of his pocket as everyone shuffles out of the room, so you wait a moment before grabbing yours out of the pocket of your favorite black linen, wide-legged trousers. Thank god you didn’t wear a skirt and tights today. That would’ve been a bitch to deal with later.

During work hours, his messages don’t leave any notifications. No vibrations. Nothing. He has his set up the same. If your phone were to vibrate only moments after he picks his up (or vice versa), your coworkers would have figured your secret out a long time ago. That would’ve been stupidly obvious.

Staying a few paces behind everyone exiting the room, you open up your text conversation with your boyfriend. Even on your personal phone, you keep his full name and only his full name in your contacts.

Spencer Reid: “Parking garage in 5. I’m already on my way down, so head out ASAP.”

Glancing across the bullpen, you don’t see Penelope. She must have darted out of the room directly after the brief while you were focused on finding the first moment you could whip your phone out of your pocket.

You shoot Penelope a quick text that you’re running home for lunch to eat your leftover Chinese takeout. This lie does kind of track for you, actually. You’re not the best chef ever and you’re even worse at packing lunches for work. You’ve used past lunch breaks to run out to grab fast food or a fresh, much-better-tasting sandwich from the café across the street.

Walking past Hotch’s office on your way out, you can see him yelling into his phone. You’d guess that the maintenance team is getting an earful of Hotch’s anger and frustration right now. He definitely values punctuality and professionalism.

Looking around, you check to make sure nobody that you know is nearby as you approach Spencer’s car in the parking garage.

He pulls out of the spot as soon as you’ve closed the car door.

“My place, I presume, handsome?”

“God, I’ve missed you so much.” He places a hand on your knee as he drives, snaking his fingers up your inner thigh. “I could barely focus on what you were saying when I just wanted to get my hands all over you. I’ve got some case file reading to do on the way to Florida.”

Your apartment is only a three-minute drive, which is why you bike to work most days, but that also means it’s the best option right now. Getting this opportunity right now feels like a gift from whatever gods may be. whatever gods may be.

I hope you like this one! I've been working on these seven chapters for over two months and I've put well over 100 hours into this fic. Comments and/or constructive feedback are always appreciated!

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[northgazaupdates]

Please support our friend

Graphic design artist and journalist Moataz Abu Sakran @moatazart was still finishing his beautiful home in Gaza City when the IOF bombed it. They destroyed everything he and his wife Maryam had built, leaving him, Maryam, and their baby girl Maria homeless. Moataz lost the ability to work, and his family is struggling to get food. They have been repeatedly under siege by the occupation, including during the long siege of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex area.

Despite all of this, Moataz continues to make content about Gaza, risking his life and going to unimaginable effort to inform people about real conditions on the ground in the north of the Strip. His tumblr (above) and Instagram accounts are both active, and you can view his work there. This blog often cites Moataz, and major news outlets like Al Jazeera as well as social media influencers have also used his photos and footage, usually without any recognition.

Moataz, Maryam, and Maria were about to evacuate to Egypt to temporarily resettle there for their own safety. Their plan was to find safety in Egypt, and find work there until they were able to return to Gaza. The border is currently closed due to illegal IOF seizure, but it will reopen. They still plan to travel to Egypt for their own safety and to find work, but for now that is too far into the future to be of any consolation. They have no intention of leaving Gaza permanently, they love their home and are determined to rebuild it.

You can help them rebuild their home by supporting them here. The rebuilding cost is significant, and the fundraising will have to be done in stages. Unfortunately, this first stage has seen very little progress. You can help Palestinians be able to keep living in Gaza by supporting their reconstruction funds. No amount is too little, and all reblogs and reposts are immensely powerful.

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Thank you

The legitimacy of Moataz’s case has been verified by this blog, as well as other tumblr users

[yuamusuzuran]

One thing my friend pointed out as we watched "The Full Moon" was the vast difference in Blitz and Stolas' support networks.

I think one of the reasons we saw Cherubs now is also to emphasize how loved and respected Blitz actually is by M&M and Loona even though they won't really tell it to his face. This really shows that, even though Blitz himself thinks he's making everyone's lives miserable, it's not really the case, as all of these people, including Fizz, are his support network and dear friends (& Loona the daughter) that will most definitely call him out for his behavior or his own self-destructive tendencies.

Stolas doesn't have that. He was raised by a narcissist like Paimon, entered arranged marriage with a woman who hated his guts from the beginning and he doesn't really have the rest of Goetia family behind him as it seems it's all about status and face for them. Sure he has a daughter, but knowing Stolas, he doesn't want to dump his unresolved feelings and worries on Octavia when she herself has to get used to the fact her parents are divorcing and is in constant fear that her beloved father will leave her. The closest platonic relationship he has is with Asmodeus, but even in "Oops" it was shown they are more work associates than close friends. Stolas doesn't have support network and had grown up sheltered from the problems of the real world AND from the proper showcase of how relationships really function.

Thus, I really hope the entire fandom is right about Vassago, at least according to what Viv had said. I need Stolas to get this support network and it will most definitely start with at least one good friend. So, if Vassago is intended to become Stolas' close friend or someone who can check him, I'm all here for it

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not congratulating my friend on his wedding (out of bitterness)?

Around the middle of 2022, one of my (22F, lesbian) close friends, Sam (24M, gay man) was proposed to by his partner of four years. [Including sexualities just because I don't want people to misterpret this as a homewrecking situation]

For a while I didn't hear any updates from him, and I didn't probe because I know wedding planning is stressful and just assumed I'd hear about it eventually.

Two days ago, he sent me pictures of the wedding.

We've been friends for about 8 years, and though we live around 2 hours away, we've never met up in person (not out of unwillingness but just unavailability). I was there when he met his partner and I gave him advice, he helped me through all my rough breakups, we've gotten into each other's special interests. The point is I consider us good friends.

I was blindsided that I wasn't told anything. I'm not demanding that I should have been invited, but at the very least considered. Based on the photos, the people attending were at least 30, very much not just close family. It's not a matter of distance, I talk about driving a 1-2 hour commute on the regular.

Whenever I open our text conversation I'm just overwhelmed with bitterness over not even being considered to attend one of the most important events of his life. And so I haven't said anything yet. I am happy for him, but I just feel like we've drifted apart in a way I hadn't realized until now. But I'm also worried I just sound entitled. AITA for not responding to him yet?

[thatsmzbitchtoyou]

The Fuck Up Chapter 1

Summary:  Bucky fucked up.  A few times.  Will his best friend ever be able to forgive him?

Warnings: language, smut, mentions of war, injury, pregnancy

Y/N and Bucky had been best friends since they were teenagers. They met on the first day of high school in English, both groaning over the fact that the assigned reading was The Grapes of Wrath, considered an American classic but an incredibly boring read. They were paired up in a project together and became inseparable ever since. Y/N had no family, having been passed from foster home to foster home until finally being placed with the family she was with now who were willing to keep her. She had a hard time trusting people, and Bucky liked a challenge. They quickly became the most important people in each other’s lives. They were teased about dating each other, and as much as they each had moments of having more romantic feelings towards the other, nothing had ever come to full fruition. Bucky’s family took Y/N in and treated her like their own. Even with her new adopted family, she had never felt so loved in her life.

After high school they had planned to go to college together, but the housing market crashed and Bucky’s parents, Winifred and George, had to use his and his sister Becca’s college funds to keep their house, and no companies were giving out scholarships as they all tried to protect their assets. Y/N had been able to use a grant system to get into college. Bucky came from a military family, and although he had had no plans of ever joining, it seemed he had run out of options. He enlisted in the Marines. Y/N was upset, not wanting him to risk his life, but understood. She supported him as he went through boot camp and then the rigorous special operations training, but the military was hard on him. Bucky had always been an emotional person, and Y/N hated watching him have to deal with the PTSD and the group mindset that the military instilled in him, changing him from the happy-go-lucky kid she’d known to an anxious, trauma-ridden mess. She finished college and got a digital marketing degree, working for a major online company while doing some photography as a side hustle.

Twelve years later they were both in their thirties, barely getting to see each other but keeping in touch. Bucky had had a few close calls while on special ops the last few years and his family was pushing him to not re-enlist.

“Please, Buck, no more,” Winifred begged him. “You’ve served your country well. You’ve almost died three times over the last few years. Please stay,” she cried as he looked at the re-enlistment papers.

“I know, Ma, I know,” Bucky sighed, setting them down. “I…I just feel like I got one more tour left in me. I need to do this.”

“Hey everybody!” Y/N called as she entered the house.

Winifred spun around. “Y/N! Come here please!”

Y/N followed her voice to the kitchen. “Hey Winnie…wait,” she looked between them. “What’s wrong?”

“Bucky is thinking of re-enlisting,” Winifred said, sniffling sadly.

The look on Y/N’s face when her head snapped towards him made him flinch. “You…” she stuttered, her eyes wide and her brow furrowed. “You just got back.”

“I know, honey,” Bucky walked up to her and grabbed her arms. “I just need to do this. One more tour.”

“No,” she replied, pulling away from him. “You said you were done. We wrote to each other about it. You promised me,” Y/N’s eyes started to fill with tears.

“Please don’t cry, Y/N,” Bucky begged. “I can’t handle it when you cry.”

“Well that’s TOO DAMN BAD!” Y/N screamed at him. Bucky stepped back, surprised by her reaction. Winifred gasped, also shocked by her outburst. Y/N was not one to normally get emotional or react out loud to things. Y/N shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to breathe normally as her hands clenched at her sides. “You promised me,” she whispered.

Bucky sighed and bit his bottom lip. “Y/N, please understand—”

“No, you need to understand something,” she interrupted him, her eyes opening and glaring at him. “I don’t know where this weird obsession came from with you wanting to run into danger. You joined the military so you could get help with college. But then you re-enlisted, and re-enlisted. And now you have this codependent relationship with an organization, in a government, in a country, that doesn’t care about you!” She walked closer to him until she was toe to toe with him. “You are just another body to them. If and when you die, they’ll easily replace you. We can’t replace you!” She gestured to Winifred and herself. “I need you,” she cried, the tears finally falling down her cheeks. “You are wanted, appreciated, and loved here, at home. Why is that not enough?”

“It is enough,” Bucky said, blinking rapidly to stop any of his own tears falling.

“Obviously not,” Y/N whimpered, her chin wobbling as she tried to keep her emotions at bay. “I can’t…I can’t do this,” she whirled around and left the way she came.

“Y/N, hey wait,” Bucky called after her, following her to the front door. “Come on, honey, please don’t leave, let’s talk about this!” Y/N didn’t answer him, continuing to walk through the front door and out to her car. “Y/N…honey please!” She didn’t even spare him a glance as she got in her car. He tried opening her door, but she had already locked it. She quickly backed up and left his parents’ house, her tires screeching as she peeled down the street. “Fuck,” Bucky grumbled, running his hands through his hair.

He knew she was right, that it was stupid of him to re-enlist and put himself in harm's way. He had made a lifelong friendship in the military, and through some misguided idea of brotherhood had promised his friend he’d come back for another tour and join him for more special ops. But he had also promised his girl he’d be done after this last time. His girl?

**picture found on Pinterest...can we all agree that A.I. is dangerous just for this picture alone? #buckywiththelonghair

[jonesywrites]

I feel compelled, so I must.

*Now with images for context

Man I shit you not, I have so much stuff to do like SO MUCH but I also have ADHD and a tendency toward hyperfixation so I am compelled, I tell you.

I'm writing for a whole ass other ship, filming, and editing for my YT channel. But I saw gifs, and I read tweets, and I saw hot takes and then I decided to react to Season 3 Part I for my channel.

I AM OBSESSED.

I'm in the middle of editing my reactions to Ep 1-4 and I just HAVE to chime in with these observations I keep having as I go through and re-live each Polin scene while editing. I know some of this has been seen/said before but I'm a newb to this fandom and I just finished listening to all of the audiobooks (save Simon and Daphne's story) so I just gotta! I OBSERVED A LOT and there's a lot here, so . . .

Colin turns to the Featherington house as soon as he arrives home and greets his family.

Because whether he's aware of it or not, he's thinking of one of those Featheringtons, who happens to be standing there as he debuts "the new Colin" to the people he cares about the most -- which includes Pen, they are telegraphing to us in this moment -- (right after testing some of that newfound charm on a gaggle of giggly girls). I don't think he greets her right away because he isn't ready yet but you can see his smile/smirk when he spots her -- like "Yep, Pen, feast your eyes, it's the new me, and NOW I'll bet you'll want to hear about my travels."

Eloise is the first person to spot that he may not really be into this "new Colin".

The show GOES OUT OF ITS WAY to let you know this isn't really Colin, that his heart isn't really into it, from jump. The siblings Bridgerton do a little "we see each other" when he questions her about trying to fit into society after all this time -- they're two sides of the same coin. He's too sensitive and romantic for the rakes of the ton and she's too independent and free-thinking for the boring trappings of the marriage mart, but here they both are. Pretending.

Colin goes out of his way to test his new charm on half the ladies at the Queen's garden party thing BEFORE he approaches Pen to talk for the first time since he got back -- at first glance he's just doing his thing, being the new him, enjoying himself and his new ability to woo the ladies but IT IS THIS AUTHOR'S HUMBLE OPINION THAT HE WAS TESTING HIS CHARM TO ITS LIMITS BEFORE HE WENT OVER TO THE ONE GIRL HE ACTUALLY WANTS TO/TRUELY ENJOYS CONVERSING WITH TO LAY IT ON HER.

Wanna bet me he wasn't thinking about Pen while he was away, wondering why she wasn't answering, plotting to talk to her when he got back, plotting to see if his new charm would work on her because she's Pen and her opinion means a lot to him? He doesn't get why yet but it's there -- the tip of the iceberg, only a strong desire for her attention and approval right now, but I can sooooo see how that started to quickly burn into a much more intense desire for just...her.

I adore how Penelope asks the dressmaker for new dresses in the fashion of "what they are wearing in Paris" after Colin tells her his new wardrobe is what's all the rage in Paris from is travels.

He always counts on her just being Pen in the citrus colors hanging on the wall, a safe place, but then he sees her in that green dress and I truly believe this is the moment he realizes -- nah fam, this isn't just "Pen my friend who doesn't count (as a woman)", this is "wow who is that woman in the striking color with pretty lips and fiery red hair?"

This poor lovesick fellow has no idea why every time he sees her at a ball his heart does a funny thing and he suddenly can't see anyone else and he gets the urge to drink whatever's in his hand/close by.

HEY BABE IT'S BECAUSE YOU LIKE HER. A LOT. She isn't just Pen who doesn't count, she is SPECIAL.

Much has been said about the "Goodnight, Mr. Bridgerton" scene, but I'll just add that you can tell when Colin is being genuine and totally himself vs when he's trying to charm her into relaxing with him/being more like her usual self.

When he says "the colour rather suits you," he's being her good friend who is pleased to see her looking so good but he's also saying that to himself, judging by his tone, like "yeah girl you should wear green more often, this makes you look damn good". And when he says he misses her, he means it, but you can also hear the armor of that New Colin Charm in his tone. It's a vulnerable thing to admit, so he uses a devilish smile and has a wink in his eyes because so far that has worked on every girl here since he got back. Not Pen, though ... he was SHOOK when she rebuffed him and called him cruel.

Yes, he is absolutely panicked that he might lose his one true friend in all of the fickle ton, but also . . . Colin is totally realizing how hot Pen is in the garden scene. Colin is looking into her gorgeous eyes and admitting how she makes him feel and you can see the real-time realization in his eyes/expression. Handshake? He is acting on his impulse to touch her while using his newfound charm to disguise his curiosity.

Colin wants to hang out with her as much as possible because that's how comfortable and appreciated she makes him feel but also it's my opinion that he, at least subconsciously, also wants to keep looking at her, getting closer to her, winning her favor. He's not even thinking about the results of the whole charm lessons thing, he's just thinking about being around Penelope as much as possible because of that realization that she makes existing in a world that is determined to misunderstand him (and has "forced" him to don a mask/facade to survive) bearable.

I agree with those who pointed out that he is taken aback by Pen's awkward flirting session with the fan because normally when they're alone talking all he sees/experiences is her wit, intelligence, keen ability to read between the lines of their society, etc.

Also, you can see he doesn't even care what the other blokes think of her, he thinks she's friggin adorable -- he can't keep the smile off his face even as he's sympathizing with her for going down faster than the Titanic-which-doesn't-exist-yet-duh-but-analogy-with-me-here.

Every moment of the private lesson scene, from him instantly abandoning the card game with his siblings to the way he planned out the whole thing and thought about where everyone would be and what window of time they'd have to "practice" shows THAT HE WAS IN FACT VERY EAGERLY AWAITING HER VISIT for their lesson. Matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one who suggested the game in the garden to get everyone out of the house in anticipation of Pen’s arrival.

It is this author's humble opinion that Colin really, really wanted to pretend to flirt with Penelope to satisfy his nagging, subconscious (yet fluttering to the surface) curiosity and I AM WILLING TO BET MY TWIN SISTER'S WHOLE 2024 SALARY that (especially after her compliment shook him to his core) they wouldn't have made it much longer without him kissing her if they hadn't been interrupted and she had't read his journal.

He wanted alone time, he wanted intimacy, he wanted to flirt -- they would have charmed each other right into each other's pants if those lessons were allowed to continue, mark my words.

Colin's body was at least several weeks ahead of him. The body doesn't lie. Touching her skin in the garden. Leaning into her whenever they speak (with the convenient excuse of their height difference), pressing his palm into her lower back to escort her to the drawing room, sitting and letting her hold his hand for an unnecessarily long pause before forcing himself to stop staring at her and end the impropriety (escape the intensity of the moment to breathe and process, more like).

Jealous Colin(tm) with his intense eyes and hard jawline is everything and hot af, end of observation.

I love Dream Pen for Colin. The way he dressed her. The way his mind envisions her being breathless for him.

The way he pictures himself just holding her close and indulging in hot, sultry kisses until she's practically melting in his arms. THIS IS WHAT HE DREAMS ABOUT, WHAT HE TRULY WANTS. This boy is a Romantic with a capital ROMANTIC and I JUST LOVE how his dream about Pen reflects that so clearly. We've seen him struggling to pay attention or care in brothels but he displays more sexual intensity, passion, and lust in this romantic wet dream about simply confessing his feelings than any other time he's seen on screen with a woman he's supposed to find attractive.

The "Sweet Treats" scene, as I believe I've seen others pointing out, is --yes, sweet-- at a glance. But also HOT AF. He's pining, he's nervous, he's jealous, she's so sweet and lovely confessing her excitement and hopes for the match with Deblin. But it's also hot b/c I meeeean....The pink everywhere (pink walls, get it), her lips and his reaction to her glancing her tongue across them, his fingers flexing out of nerves but also the subconscious urge to touch, maybe even caress, is all in his stiff, hovering body language. Like, if he could shove those treats off one of those tables, throw her against it and ravage her "sweet treat" right then there in that pink little tent, homeboy totally would have if society/propriety/scandal/watching eyes weren't a concern.

SIDENOTE: I think Deblin was definitely attracted to Pen, it wasn't SOLELY a practical match for him.

He says she can make men wither within seconds of their first meeting and he definitely looks at her in a way that says he's charmed, intrigued, impressed, etc. So I think even they married, eventually he would start to miss her while away, then ache for her, then he would come home to her and he would fall. Gradually maybe, but I do believe Pen was right to hope love could grow between them. However, I'm so so sooo glad neither of them settled.

WHAT CAN BE SAID ABOUT THE CARRIAGE SCENE THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN SAID??? It's one of the hottest love scenes I've ever seen, and it's not because everybody is naked or because there's kink or anything crazy. It's because (for me) the actors TRULY CARE ABOUT THE DETAILS. Almost every frame has something you can freeze and stare at in awe, they DID THAT. Colin finally FEELING IT, with the one person who can truly see him and inspire those deep feelings he's been yearning for was HOT AF. Pen basically being at his mercy but also realizing her power over him and embracing it by letting him ruin her because it's COLIN (she wouldn't let anyone else do that, IMO, not even Deblin). MY FAVORITE PART:

At the end, when they exhale and slump into each other/the carriage seat in sync. She looks like she's never felt anything like this in her life (cuz she ain't) and he looks like he's finally HOME. And I'm not talking about his family's estate -- I specifically mean right there in Penelope's bosom, between her legs, her breath, her eyes, her moans for him, like he looks relieved and satisfied AND THEN HE'S LIKE "SO I'M NEVER LETTING THIS GO. DONE DEAL, YOU'RE MY PENELOPE, NOW."

Ugh. I loooove this couple! I HAD TO GET THIS OUT OF MY BODY. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Gonna add stills for the moments I mention once Tumblr stops being a bitch.

[twistofstory]

And here's the guy from the main story~

Wolffish's a full rainwing who was raised among seawings and had picked up a lot of seawing expressions and curses from his family. He discovered the properties of rainwing venom on his own and even learned to spit it quite accurately, and the old scar on his tail serves as a reminder of the danger of this ability. At an older age, he finally visited his native forest and became imbued with traditions of his tribe, but did not stay - he quickly became bored with the life of the rainwing, and he loved his work too much. What kind of work? Wolffish was a mailman. In wartime, his camouflage skills became simply irreplaceable - this way he could deliver a letter to almost anywhere on the continent, avoiding clashes with any dragons. Word about the unusual carrier quickly spread, and lucrative, but much less harmless offers started coming to him. Wolffish didn't refuse them - since his skills can be useful not only for simple letters delivery, why not? Money is money, and the opportunity to provide a comfortable life for yourself and even help your family sounded irresistible. Life was great and all, but interests of his customers often ran counter to each other, and, unbeknownst to himself, Wolffish made some enemies. One day his luck ran out and he got caught... Varan pulled him out of this scrape, and from this began a new era of Wolffish’s life - first as one of the confidants for the gang leaders, and then as Varan’s personal bodyguard. Wolffish isn't confrontational nor vindictive, and he is friendly with his comrades, but most of the Center members treat him with some caution. His camouflage, tracking and venom shooting skills, perfected over the years, have made him one of the most dangerous gang members, and few dragons would risk crossing his path. The habit of walking around the camp unseen also does not help Wolffish get closer to the dragons, so his usual social circle is limited to Varan’s second-in-command, the leader himself and, unexpectedly, Newt. What’s interesting is that Wolffish and Newt aren't just good friends, but also ex-lovers - their relationship developed very rapidly, and just as quickly grew from romance to platonic friendship. Breakup was pretty painless, and they remained quite close. Prejudices towards dragons from different tribes are not so pronounced in the gang, and yet only Newt and Wolffish understand what it's like to be a rainwing (or half-rainwing) far from homeland. What’s ironic is that the “seawing” Wolffish has a much more “rainwing” lifestyle than Newt, who grew up in the tropic forest, but they still often have “sun hours” together (Newt may have inherited most of the genetics from his mudwing side, yet sun is also extremely necessary for his health). Unfortunately, things haven't been so great between them recently. The tense atmosphere of the Center in the light of recent events has affected the relationship between all members, and Newt has an additional reason not to trust his comrades. Wolffish's still a part of Varan's inner circle, and Newt isn't sure he'll put their friendship above loyalty to the gang leader if things go wrong.

Fun fact: “a very competent flirt” was the initial concept for Newt in the first version of the story, but over time I moved away from this idea.

[campfam4lyfe]

Got any campfam aus or ideas in the works?

hey anon! I wouldn’t say I have any ideas in the works, because I have what I like to call commitment issues when it comes to writing fic.

This means that while I have an abundance of ideas, outlines, and wips in my Google docs for the fandoms I’ve been in. I’ve never actually finished a fic and posted it.

In fact, the only single time I have, (diff fandom!) I am not counting properly, because it was a collab with a close mutual, and a lot of the legwork was them. I had the initial plot bunny and was going to leave it as a one off tumblr post, but my mutual rlly liked the idea and we bounced drabbles and such back and forth. We wrote a bunch of snippets and put them together in a doc, until we had cohesive chapters, as we filled the empty spaces with more and more work, ending up to a total of 18 chapters. It took us a year and a half to post it, and that was mostly my fault, as where my mutual had finished most of their allotted sections, different hyperfixations kept pulling me to other unfinished works. This is why I won’t promise anything—I don’t want to disappoint anyone.

But, that being said. I do have ideas, hcs, and aus! One that is currently consuming me, was actually inspired by this one other post I saw recently. (When I find the post ima link it dw!) OP of the post was saying that there should be a Carmen Sandiego au for CC and I jumped on that SO fucking fast anon. I LOVE Carmen Sandiego, and have since it first aired when I was in HS.

So. Here’s some of the Carmen Sandiego au thoughts copy/pasted from my Google docs. (Yes I do always write out my outlines as if I’m taking to someone but that’s bc i sometimes end up sharing the doc link with some friends)

JWCC Carmen Sandiego AU:

Y’all know Kenlynn is my JAM and so is RedCrackle. So obvi I thought of mixing the two right? But here’s the thing. While I love Carmen/Gray, I am also in love with Carmen/Ivy and Carmen/Julia.

So with that in mind. Kenlynn is going to take a backseat for a second (meaning tho they'll become a thing and obvi they will bc they are a constant to me, theyre not the center of this), and my fave girls YASAMMY will be at the forefront of this au.

I’m thinking. Carmen Sammy. But I’m not entirely sure about whether or not that’s what I want? It could be argued that Sammy’s love for her family is a core driving force in her character, and Carmen doesn’t KNOW her family. But also—a huge plot point is that she’s looking for her mom. So. Tentative Carmen Sammy.

MANTAH CORP AS VILE MANTAH CORP AS V.I.L.E MANTAH CORP AS V.I.L.E

So I figure not everything is going to be one-to-one. This means I am placing Kenji in the role of Gray/Crackle. His story is going to be different tho, bc whereas Gray was a recruit, with MANTAH CORP AS V.I.L.E that means Daniel is already on the board. So kenji trying to make his dad proud? More likely than you think.

(I just wanted my Sammy&Kenji besties. Bestie betrayal can be just as good as romantic betrayal)

I’m sure you know where I’m going with this if we’re not going the redcrackle route. Thats right. YASMINA JULIA.

I considered at first, YASMINA CARMEN and SAMMY IVY, but in the end the need for Sammy Carmen was too great.

So I also considered Dave and Roxxie as Chase and Julia but, I decided to scrap that idea for now. You know me, at some point I might revamp most of the au anyways lol, now is not a time for fine tuning it’s just a tentative starting point.

Torn between DARIUS as Player or Brooklynn as Player. I considered Ben of course, but I think we need to put him on an island at some point—he needs a Bumpy, no matter the universe.

WAIT. REVISITING BEN AS PLAYER. BECAUSE DARIUS AND BRAND AS ZACK AND IVY. This means no Carmen/Ivy vibes but since we ditched the Gray/Carmen as well in this au I think it’s fine.

Ben still has to end up with Bumpy somehow tho? Original Ben plan, when Darius was a Player candidate, was Ben is also a V.I.L.E recruit.

V.I.L.E having a faction that deals with genetics and cloning (in addition to like. Kash and his robots) and ending up with a dinosaur—Bumpy! And that being Ben’s flip to the other side/Team Sammy. He defects and steals Bumpy on his way out.

Okay I’m a little too attached to that, so yeah. V.I.L.E recruit Ben, so Brooklynn as player??

Oh! She doesn’t have!!! IRL friends!! Brooklynn being an Internet famous vlogger as in canon. So we get that running gag of Sammy and Brooklynn always being in contact and Brooklynn being a big part of the heists through investigative work and such, yet she’s constantly on the other side of the globe? Sammy needs to be in Sydney but Brooklynn is in New Orleans. That kinda stuff.

Works with Brooklynn having traveled all over the world, she can also do those factoids player does—she’s got the deets.

Oh!???? THATS HOW WE GET MY FAVE DUO OF DINOSTAR BESTIES!!! They both love their facts. They’re nerds.

Mae as shadowsan? Tentatively?

Okay. Player Brooklynn. Except instead of being home most of the time, she’s usually on the go. She’s talked to kenji a few times during Sammy and Kenji’s V.I.L.E recruit era.

Kenji as the Gray of this au. he’s a V.I.L.E legacy. he became friends with sammy his recruitment year, and he'd talked to brooklynn a few times, due to sammy introducing them because kenji was curious about whether or not sammy has friends in the outside world, and sammy noticing brooklynn feeling a little left out/jealous that sammy had friends she was hanging with in person rather than over a phone call.

kenlynn kenlynn kenlynn

does he recognize her voice from her vlogs? does he even watch them? i dont think hed be a brooklander, guys got a lot on his plate and thats impressing his dad

ben is a V.I.L.E. recruit. maybe a bit of mime bomb, in that he was. not as close? with the other recruits. i do think having ben come in as a recruit the year sammy defects would be cool tho. so he doesn't know her as "black sheep" or whatever code name V.I.L.E refers to her as. he'll first meet her as Sammy.

yaz as JULIA!!!!! a junior agent? a former athlete. trying to make it make sense, but i think it fits.

omg. yaz. is alex rider basically holy shit

was thinking of dave as chase, and decided that i was going to keep it.

roxxie as the Chief.

mae as shadowsan.

yes. it IS because i want a roxxie/mae/dave love triangle and that need's final form was ot3

DARIUS AND BRAND AS ZACK AND IVY. i dont want their mom to be dead. but i dont know WHAT happened to her and why theyre involved in this life of crime? i love the og carmen&ivy&zack meeting. and i love that they were involved with racing. trying to find a way to incorporate it and make it make sense

important question.....is darius and his dad's great shared love still dinosaurs?

OR IS IT CARS? RACING?????? BRAND BEING INVOLVED IN THE RACES BC IT WAS IMPORTANT TO DARIUS AND THEIR DAD AND DARIUS CANT DRIVE YET

AND. SAMMY. AS CARMEN!!!!!!

okay so carmen's dad was a former V.I.L.E. agent who left it all behind for the woman he fell in love with right? well. obvi this au isnt a one to one. like there clearly have been changes in characters and dynamics. but i think involving elements from this could work. lemme map it out to make sense

okay so in cc sammy spies for mantah corp despite her parents not wanting her to. meanwhie carmen's dad defects from V.I.L.E., i think shadowsan was there and so was the chief and he dies.

okay so--sammy's dad was a V.I.L.E. agent, fell in love, defected. V.I.L.E. catches up with him, and does A.C.M.E. and in the fallout, the house collapses. A fire? an explosion? they think sammy died. (im not killing off sammy's dad bc damnit she needs a happy ending)

yaz losing faith in the system and having her hot girl summer being romanced by the pretty thief she's supposed to be catching

ben ditches VILE/Mantah Corp with Bumpy and meets Darius at some point--oh!!!

mae/shadowsan joins Team Sammy at the end of s1 i think? okay, so, when she joins, she brings ben, a fresh defector with her.

obvi ben left after he stole bumpy from them

at some point during their occasional talks, kenlynn became friendly with each other. then The Train scene happens. and kenji is promptly deemed a disappointment and dealt with the way gray is.

brooklynn ends up coming across a memory-wiped kenji during one of her vlogs. he doesnt know he knows her, just that something about her voice seems familiar.

brooklynn brings it up and the other are Concerned but also have a lot on their plate rn/dont truly trust him again or are unclear on whether or not they should. darius/brand bc their experiences havent been good so far, and sammy doesnt want to risk them. but he was still one of her first friends. shes torn

brooklynn making contact with him. smth smth she ends up needing a camera man for one of her vlogs and kenji volunteers. they grow closer during her sporadic visits. he asks her out.

DANIEL KON HAS ENTERED THE CHAT. SAMMY NEEDS BROOKLYNN TO DO HER THING. SHE MISSES THE DATE.

Meanwhile, that entire interactive ep??? of carmen sandiego with the julia/carmen??? THAT. THAT HAPPENS. YASAMMY DANCE AND WE GET THAT SCENE YOU KNOW THE ONE

[gtanddragons]

[ISAT G/t] Aftermath

Contains spoilers for the almost-end of Act 5, after the first boss battle.

This was part of a shifter!Siffrin AU I was rolling around in my brain for a while, largely inspired by @miniature-knight's banger ideas and really cool art, and also something something I'm just legally obligated to make an emotion-based shifting AU for everything I touch lmao

You hadn’t thought it was real.

Waking so suddenly from the hellish nightmare you’d been trapped in, seeing your family standing before your face, facing down the King— looking positively minuscule compared to the King, compared to you, and yet—

The sound of a mirror breaking— of Mirabelle deflecting the King’s attack completely— almost actually manages to snap you out of it.

The King wails about your country. About your home. The details are fuzzy in your mind already even as he utters them, but something in the back of your mind fills with yearning as he sees what no one else can— and perhaps, what no one else will ever see again— of your country.

And then, he is frozen in time.

And then, he is suddenly just as small as the rest of your family.

And you

Are left

To stare, incredulously. Wondering how he was able to do that. Did you do that, too, when you were frozen in time? Shrink back down to what you think was your height before—? It feels so long ago, you can’t even seem to remember a time when you were smaller than all of them…

You notice that they’re cheering. You’d… automatically tuned it out. You’d heard it before, heard the cheering when you’d killed the King before, but this time is… different.

Isabeau suddenly turns to face you, a scowl on his face.

You blink, as he points a finger directly at your face.

“Now, you—”

Ah…

Mirabelle interrupts by brushing past Isabeau, marching up to your face and balling her hands into fists at her side.

“How could you say all those horrible things to us, Siffrin?!”

You wince. There it is. 

“Yeah! That wasn’t cool,” Bonnie adds. “Not cool at all!”

They’re lecturing you for what you said, for coming here alone, but you can only stare. This is new. All of this is new— you don’t know how to respond. 

Your brows furrow. Your head feels fuzzy.

“Um… Sif?” Isabeau asks, his frown almost immediately shifting into a concerned look. 

Bonnie comes up and stands directly in front of your eye. So close, that they seem blurry… wait. They all seem a little blurry, don’t they?

You slowly blink.

“Frin, are you listening?” Bonnie asks. “Hey Dile, is it normal for the black thing in their eye to be so big???”

Odile slowly approaches behind Bonnie, an unreadable expression on her face.

You wish they wouldn’t stand so close. It’s hard to see them properly like this.

“Siffrin?” She asks, her voice… unusually soft. So quiet. Almost too quiet to hear. “Anyone there?”

You… can’t lift your head.

You can barely move. You can barely muster the energy to breathe.

You

Are so

Impossibly

Tired.

…When was the last time you’d slept? You can’t remember. You don’t think you’ve been able to even fit in a bed for… for a long time. Only in that stupid, blinding clearing… 

Your eye

Involuntarily

Starts to close.

A nap… you just want a nap…

“Sif?!”

“Siffrin!”

“What’s wrong, do you feel sick?”

You can hear their worried voices around your face, can feel small hands touching your cheek. You don’t flinch. You don’t think you’d have the strength to do that even if you wanted to.

“…skin feels so warm, there’s something wrong—”

“…burning up…”

“…even with Loop’s help, it was hard getting here…”

…Loop? You manage to crack your eye open, giving your family a questioning look. They’d met Loop…?

Odile notices first, and she (correctly) guesses what you want to ask. “Oh, your friend Loop— I think you two know each other, somehow.”

“We met them earlier!” Bonnie pipes up. “We were looking for you so we could talk to you, but we couldn’t find you anywhere, and we even asked all the townspeople, but they hadn’t seen you, which is crazy because you’re like the size of Godzilla! So we wound up going to the Favor Tree, and Za asked it to help us find you, and then this weird star showed up, and they told us they were a star, which is why they were spiky and glowy—”

Odile rests a hand on Bonnie’s shoulder, seemingly taking pity on your attempt to process Bonnie’s rapidfire spiel.

“They helped us find you,” she says simply. “We couldn’t have made it here without their help.”

They start explaining how Loop helped to guide them through the House, and you feel a wave of gratitude wash over you. Loop had guided them, in your stead. Made sure they didn’t get crushed by the first trap, made sure they knew where to go, when you had been wandering blind for what felt like an eternity through the warped, distorted version of the House. Blinded by rage, blinded by your desperation to kill the King… to escape…

You listen intently, and you think that’s why they keep talking. Because you’re trying to stay awake for that much, because this is all still so new. You don’t know the lines they’re saying. You don’t know your lines you should be responding with.

But, inevitably, your eye starts to flutter closed once more. You can barely lift your head.

“…The Head Housemaiden should be up ahead, yes?” Odile asks, and you hear Mirabelle respond with an affirmative.

You hear them argue over how they might be able to get you to her, or maybe one of them can run ahead and bring the Housemaiden back to you so she can help. 

You sharply exhale. Your family hasn’t split up before, when going through the House. They shouldn’t split up. You need to… get to the Head Housemaiden, but you know you can’t walk, can’t even drag yourself along, but you have to get to her— 

…A sense of familiarity washes over you. There is one way your friends can help you get there, isn’t there? You remember a little.

Your body shifts, and suddenly, your stomach drops, like you’re falling, falling, falling…

You open your eye, even as you continue to fall. Your family members are no longer beneath your gaze, but standing above it, standing over you, but…

…Oh. Oh you’re still falling. Still getting smaller, because it felt like exhaling and you may have held it a little too long because you’re so tired, and now they’re all looming over you and—

Oh stars you think you’re going to faint

You see a blurry figure kneel down, the fabric of a long jacket’s sleeves billowing, swallowing up your vision, feel something moving around you, touching your entire body, moving you—

A whimper escapes your lips.

The movement pauses, and you feel something gently touch your back. 

“Shh… it’s alright, Siffrin,” you can hear Odile’s voice washing over you, all around you, so close and so massive and—

—you’re starting to realize why they had all looked at you with such fear, earlier. When you’d berated all of them, loomed over them, acted like a monster.

And yet, Odile is holding you so gently. She’s looming over you, but you feel… safe, even as she starts to march her way towards the Head Housemaiden, as the towering figures that are the rest of your family members surround her on the way, nervously twittering about the unfamiliar shade outside the windows, as they block her sight from the long way down.

You close your eye again.

[myreputatioooon]

Thinking about

The sheer grief that must come from being someone precious to a timelooper btw

Spoilers under the cut also I'm still watching a 100% playthrough and not finished w/ it yet so yeh

I don't remember just they all were called, let's call them The Picnic Memories, (Training Bonnie, discussing Change Religion w/ Mirabel, Familytales w/ Odile & Stargazing w/ Isabeau)

But I'm gonna imagine and ask you all to imagine an ending to the loops where the last loop had Siffrin redo the Picnic for all his found family w/o zoning out (and not because of battling benefits) and went about it more efficiently than the first go around

Oh yeah, we're talking about the grief of someone dear to you knowing countless versions and moments of yourself you no longer have

Like throughout countless deaths, freezing themself in time to counter against dead-ends, Siffrin's trauma is likely the first thing people think about and address

His team might not even think about themselves in the bigger picture of things

Fucking hell, like Odile talking about Siffrin leading her to the Familytale that baker's daughter had and he brings up the whole circle of a fetch quest, like this beautiful lady who borrowed it because some kids stole it and we had to bribe the kids with coins to say the baker who gave it away had it under his roof stiol because his daughter got it back behind his back and you were so scary but you didn't mean to scare anyone and—

Siffrin that never happened . . .

Except it did. Siffrin just remembered afterwards and the next and finale go around, asked the little girl if she had the book first, she did, and Odile got more time to go through the familytale

After the time loop passed, he focused himself on learning more and more on what would break these time loops, even before the picnic he was asking questions once and only repeated them if he forgot anything in a later loop

Bonnie, Odile gave us a crash course on Time Craft theory when we found a Craftonomy book. But she didn't? I . . . Must have forgotten it happened in a loop

I couldn't even speak during our snack time before the King, Bonnie brought out my favorite food and I was chowing down! You said that I . . . Oh yeah that was just the first time we reached the floor

The secret tunnel! It led us to the library where Mirabelle learned her Adorable Shield spell, had to find it after the King one-hit k.o.ed us in the first battle against him, and it's where me and Odile discovered the Family Tale she was looking for and, oh yeah, it became obsolete after I learned everything I needed to so we never went there . . .

Like shit, Siffrin is learning more and more and becoming more close to the four as the loops go by, socializing, eating meals together, honing battle strategies togethers; but when it happens the other way around? It never sticks

Siffrin and his team has so many conversations, they learn and share so much about each others, but only he keeps that knowledge

How many times will he act on or state knowledge he knows or got from one of his friend from erased timeloops and their friends have to process and deal with the fact that there's so much they will never remember sharing with Siffren until Siffren brings it up??

On the first loop he had a Picnic with them all under the stars, they were all happy.

On the first loop they had a Picnic with them all under the stars, he grew sick of the repetitions

On the first loop he had a Picnic with them all under the stars, he took out their despair that happiness couldn't cure against the first Sadness in sight

On the first loop they had a Picnic with them all under the stars, Odile had an arm raised to shield her team, and the team stared at them.

On the first loop he had a Picnic with them all under the stars, he took that blade used against that Sadness and with it they looped again

In two timeloops, another dead end, and a final one, five declared themselves family

In every other time loop, they did not, and Siffrin submitted himself to and allyship wearing the face of family. Wearing being the key word

[luizd3ad]

Loss | Remus Lupin x Reader

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 ࣪˖⤷ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ࣪ ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 ˖ ⤷

Pairing: Remus Lupin x GN!Reader WC: 504 CW: talks of death (non descriptive), talks of grief, feelings of guilt, no use of Y/N. Author's Note: I lost someone that I grew up with today and I just needed somewhere to express myself. Summary: Remus is there for you while you mourn the lost of an old friend.

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Once you get off the phone you just stare at the wall, into nothingness. 

When your mom called you, you just thought it was just to check in on you; catch up maybe gossip a little. The last thing you expected was her telling you that someone you grew up with was now dead. That someone you were close to at one point in time was now gone.

It's a strange feeling. Mourning someone you haven't seen or talked to in years. You felt guilty. Not only for being estranged from that person but for mourning them at all.

What right did you have to be sad that he's gone? You hadn't seen or talked to him in years, but at the same time you grew up with him. You had seen him almost everyday for years. You had spent birthdays, holidays and milestones together. Your families were once close. You were once a part of each other's family. He was family.

But now he's gone.

It feels weird when someone dies. It's weird to know that there's one less person in the world. When someone dies it's hard not to feel like the world got just a little bit smaller. The world feels different.

You didn't realize Remus was home until he was crouching in front of you with a worried look on his face, you also didn't realize you were crying until you felt him softly brushing your tears from your face. When your eyes met his, you just sent him a weak smile through the tears that continued streaming down your face. 

“What happened darling? Why are you crying?” Remus spoke so softly and quietly that if it hadn't been almost completely silent in your home you were sure you wouldn't have heard him at all.

You took a deep breath trying to ground yourself before speaking. “Mum called. She told me that someone I grew up with passed today.” You whispered feeling as if you said it louder than it would make it more real.

Remus just sighed pulling you into a hug softly running his hand up and down your back. You couldn't help but cry more. Remus always made you feel safe enough to be vulnerable around him, so you knew you could cry your eyes out without any judgment from him. You didn't have to be strong in front of him. You could just let your inner child out and them cry for their friend.

Remus held you for the rest of that night just listening to you cry and laugh as you told him stories about your friend. Sometimes you would laugh so much that for a second you would forget that he's gone, then after you would cry because you would remember that he's gone. 

It was a long night to say the least and you knew it was going to be a hard few days but you knew it would be manageable as long as Remus was by your side. Which he always was.

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[maefansblog]

The main point of this specific entry is to make sense of this gif from the trailer.

Most of the time I write these blogs, I do stream of consciousness. I have opinions, I may be wrong, and I'm also learning more about the story/characters by writing them out. It is ok for you to draw your own conclusions and have your own opinions. I just want to share this. 💕

Long Post

Eloise is watching her mom dancing with Marcus. I wonder how hurt, confused, and lonely she must be.

I loved the close friendship that Eloise and Penelope shared in Season 1. I love how innocent, but free spirited she was. She understands that she doesn't have a lot of rights in this society and wants to push back on it. I love that.

I know how narrow-minded Eloise can be. She has disdain when the other debutantes talk about weddings. She was sickened when Daphne was trying to secure a match with Simon.

I have to remind myself that Eloise is growing and she doesn't fully how hurtful the things she says can be.

However, she said it best in Season 3 Episode 2 that she has a habit of saying wrong things at the wrong time.

Even the crush that she had on Theo could be attributing to her hurt. Ultimately, I do not fault her for her not wanting to kiss him. Yet she said no, he stopped himself. She wanted to protect him and make sure he still had his job. To Theo, he thought she would never lower herself in society and would play with his feelings. Theo showed his hurt by lashing out from her rejection.

Eloise pulls away. She is still a lady.

This brings us to Penelope and Eloise's friendship. (I know hot topic. It's no surprise that I don't like how Eloise has treated Penelope since she found out about Lady Whistledown. This is my opinion, you can have your own. Let's be respectful to everyone.) I understand Eloise is coming from a place of hurt not only from Theo, but that her friend would keep such a big portion of her life from her. It's like they took some of the anger from book Colin and gave it to Eloise in Season 2 Episode 8. Only Eloise isn't concerned for Penelope at ALL. She hurt that Pen would keep it from HER. She is hurt that she won't be able to talk to the Queen. She is hurt that Theo wants nothing to do with her (even though she rejected him).

She is hurt at the possibility that she could be "ruined." Which Eloise never was, as you see her gaining even more friends and being welcomed into society. Eloise calls Penelope a Wallflower, befriends her rival (which book Eloise would NEVER), and never wants to speak to her. Then Eloise has the gall to say that Penelope never visited her at Aubrey Hall??? Excuse you?!?!

Penelope does bring scandals to light- even scandals for the Bridgertons. Daphne's lack of suitors because of Anthony, Anthony's wedding, even Eloise's political radical rallies. Yes Eloise would be hurt for her family.

Penelope has not made up ANY of these scandals. It wasn't as if she befriended the Bridgertons solely for Whistledown. It was more like no one was listening to her. She was bullied by society/family, and she created the column. She was trying to protect Theo's job and protect Eloise. Imagine if the printers were raided by the Queen’s guards. All of the people would be out of work. Pen only wrote what Society was already saying. The only instance that she did not was for Eloise and Colin to protect them, and she only did it as a last resort.

If I think objectively about this, Eloise still keeps Penelope’s secret, tells Colin he can still be her friend because she knows that Penelope would be lonely, and she checks in after the scandal (that she caused 🙄).

Now that we're caught up, let's talk about what this post is about. The repercussions of the first gif. Violet dancing.

Part 2 Trailer

When said that Colin and Penelope are engaged, Eloise is being unfair -> Of course, to the audience, we are frustrated because our main couple is finally together, and she can't let them be happy for ONE NIGHT?!

Eloise is being truthful, though. Penelope should tell Colin about Lady Whistledown. Pen has accomplished something amazing and it is a part of her. Colin wants to love all of Pen, and it is unfair of her to keep it from him.

Back to Eloise. I think Cressida and Eloise will have a falling out because of Lady Whistledown. Even if Pen and Eloise resolve things, their relationship won't be the same since Penelope is marrying Colin. Eloise is starting to see everyone around her pairing off. Anthony and Kate, John and Francesca, and Penelope and Colin.

It's going to be a harder gut when she sees her MOTHER dancing with Marcus. The loss of her father has deeply impacted Eloise. Even when Violet was giving birth to Hyacinth, it was traumatic for her.

That is why Eloise, in her young adult mind, is scared of having children and getting married. Above this, Eloise loved her father. Eloise also feels that Violet is disappointed in her sometimes because she just doesn't want to be married. To see Violet with a man other than her father is going to be possibly nuclear.

We know that in the books, Eloise runs away, but I don't think we have the key plot points to have this happen quickly.

Spoilers in emojis: iykyk 💌🌊⚰️🧍‍♂️

I am looking forward to seeing Eloise's character development. My guess is Benedict is next, unless Eloise has been writing secret letters in episodes 5-8.

Whether the reaction from Eloise is understanding, shock, sadness, loneliness, or anger, it's going to be good for the story and good for Eloise. She's a complex character who loves her family. She's strong, stubborn, motivated, inquisitive, and wants more from life than what is handed to her.

After this stream of consciousness, I feel like I know Eloise a little better. Waiting anxiously for the next part to come out!! Ahhhhh!

[pinkiemachine]

GOTHAM FILES: SEASON 8

The entire planet of Tamaran is getting ready to welcome the newest member of the royal family as Starfire draws closer and closer to her due date. Consequently, this means that Dick and Star are off-world currently, and the entire BatFam is planning to travel there in about a month for the celebration. In the meantime, however, Bruce has noticed how awfully lonely Damian has been recently. Dick’s been gone for a few months at this point, he’s not exactly the closest of close buddies with the rest of the BatFam, and he doesn’t have any friends at school. (And, up until now he’s been prevented from joining the Teen Titans because he’s not quite 14 yet, and because he has “being in a team” issues.) But then, just his luck, Superman calls saying that there’s been a development with his son, Jonathan. He’s suddenly showing signs of Kryptonian abilities and Clark has had to reveal his secret identity to him. Right now, they need to look him over to check out his physiology and see what’s going on with him. Bruce says to meet at the Watchtower… and he brings Damian with him. Thus, Damian Wayne is introduced to Jonathan Kent. (I should note, Damian is 13 and Jon is 11, though Jon is taller than him and Damian hates it, especially since it leads to people thinking that Jon’s older all the stinkin time, lol.)

After they check up on Jon, discussion turns toward what they’re gonna do next. Jon’s going to need training, not just in how to use his powers, but also in other aspects like combat and stealth. (Jon’s adamant that he really wants to become a superhero just like his dad.) But Clark wants to ease Jon into all of this—he’s still only eleven—and that’s when Bruce says, “What if Jon… potentially… came over from time to time and hung out with Damian? He could show him a few things.”

Clark is surprised. Damian is confused and alarmed. Jon is all for it (right now, anyway).

Damian protests. He says that he has no time to “hang out” right now, he’s very busy! Fighting crime (which he’s very good at and there’s been no major stuff going on lately), studying (this is a lie, he’s practically college-level already), and training to prove that he’s ready to join the Teen Titans when he turns 14. Bruce sighs and pinches the brim of his nose. All that training won’t mean a thing if he can’t learn how to get along with other supers his age. This will be a good opportunity for him. It’s happening whether he likes it or not.

…So their first hangout ends in total disaster. Yeah, Damian doesn’t really know how to have “friends” especially when they’re completely normal and like, oh, I don’t know, playing video games or baseball or riding bikes or rollerblading or playing scrabble. Damian’s idea of a “fun time” is sneaking out in the Batmobile and punching the snot out of Condiment King. So… how would you explain to your dad why you’re covered in ketchup and glass shards when you get home?

There is now a growing resentment. We all know Damian’s personality. It’s very easy to dislike him. For a multitude of reasons. And after the initial starstruck-ness of meeting Robin wears off, Jon’s getting kinda sick of his reckless, arrogant, danger-loving demeanour. And Damian, he gets real sick real quick of Damian’s meeker, kinder, pushovery-er personality. Jon gets mad at Damian for getting them into trouble, but Damian says that it wouldn’t have happened at all if Jon hadn’t gotten in the way! Bruce and Clark break them up before the fighting gets worse, but they still think it would be a good idea for them to learn from each other, and Damian’s not going to be allowed to join the Titans until he can learn to get along with Jon. (Which Damian finds totally unfair.) Cue the Super Sons storyline!

Damian doesn’t have the patience or the desire to do things the way Bruce wants him to, so he devises a plan. If he and Jon can manage to complete a high-level mission and take down a dangerous criminal together, Bruce and Clark would be sure to let up on this nonsense and the two of them would never have to hang out ever again. 🤝 Deal.

So, they go on the dangerous mission, naturally things go haywire, Bruce and Clark have to show up and save them, and they’re not happy.

It takes the boys a few more tries, a few more training courses that their dads came up with, and a whole lot of patience, but eventually they do start to get along, and they do end up completing a real mission together. Finally, Bruce says that Damian, after his 14th birthday, (which is coming up soon), can join the Titans. Right now, though, it’s time to go see Dick and Star.

Princess Markori (Nightstar) Grayson is born! (Mar’i for short.) It’s a happy episode.

We do our standard check up on everyone, and everything’s going pretty well. (Well, things ended up not working out with Bab’s boyfriend, so that’s sad, but other than that, there’s been nothing super horrible lately.) Tim’s feeling a little overwhelmed as he slowly but surely becomes the new, up and coming face of Wayne Enterprises, Jason and Artemis are officially a couple, Cass and Steph have their own apartment in Gotham and team up a lot to fight crime, and BRUCE… he and Selina continue to get closer and closer… she’s been brought around the cave and she’s met most of the BatFam members by now… and Bruce just might have a ring picked out. All the more reason for Damian to be hanging out with Jon instead of being all alone at home, stewing about the situation.

So, Damian’s 14 birthday happens, and he’s officially inaugurated into the Titans… and then, when he notices Jon being kinda left out, Damian proposes that maybe they could bring Jon on as a part-time trainee. Thus bringing Jon along with him as the Ultimate Teen Titans head out on their first mission.

Back in Gotham, it’s time for the next big story arc. Get excited for the Robin Wars! Bruce is gone again on another big Justice League mission, Nightwing’s still on Tamaran, Jason’s doing his own thing, Tim was never the best fighter in the group (he’s more of a detective), and Damian’s away with the Teen Titans. Security in Gotham is at an all-time low right now, and it’s because of this over confidence that the heroes have in this quiet and peace that a new threat has started to emerge. A faceless, nameless evil. It’s taking over Gotham, little by little, egging on gangs like the Jokerz, undoing so much of the work that Bruce and the others have done and causing chaos. We, the audience, don’t find out until the very end, but… it’s the Court of Owls.

Now, we see yet again just how much of an effect Batman has really had the people of Gotham, because not long after all of this starts to happen, there’s pushback. A teenager named Duke Thomas (who happens to be a low-level meta human with light-based powers) just lost his parents to an attack by the Jokerz. They got laughing gassed and are now hospitalised. So he’s getting real fed up with these criminals, and without Batman around, he decides to take matters into his own hands. He doesn’t have much to fight with… so he sends out a rally cry. He creates an app that people can download, giving directions to all willing participants on how to organise and fight back. He calls it, “We Are Robin.” Hundreds of young people join the movement, keeping Gotham safe until Batman gets back, with Duke at the helm, leading them. This gets the attention of one Alfred Pennyworth who pitches in as well, making the whole thing feel a little more official.

But, there’s only so long they can hold out against a professional criminal organization. Sooner or later, Batman and the real Robin need to come back and push this new threat back to the shadows, especially before Duke loses control of the mob he’s incited. But Bruce was impressed. He managed to do a lot on his own. But it was also very dangerous. Duke’s lucky things didn’t go much worse.

Now that that’s over… Duke’s parents are still in the hospital… and there’s currently no known cure for Joker’s laughing gas. So, Bruce agrees to take Duke in until they can find a cure.

Gotham is back in steady hands… though Bruce is eager to figure out who that mysterious group was, manipulating everything.

At the current moment, however… he’s more concerned with proposing to Selina. Which he does. Which shocks the entire BatFam. And the entire Justice League. And Everyone.

Part 9 👇

Part 7 👇